Same distinctive part
Your mark with a descriptive word added ("shop", "group" and the like).
How-to · Trademarks
How to watch for new trademark filings similar to your mark
Trademark watching means comparing every newly published application with your marks, both the sign and the goods and services, and deciding before the opposition period ends. List your portfolio and classes, choose the countries to watch, review each publication, grade the findings by risk and put every last day in the calendar.
- Six steps
- What to do with each finding
- Not legal advice
Last reviewed · Ulawk editorial team
Method
Trademark watching in six steps.
Watching is worth as much as the opposition period: once a similar mark is registered, the remedy is an invalidation action.
Missing a publication means missing its opposition period.
In Türkiye the period is two months from publication in the bulletin and cannot be extended (Industrial Property Code art. 18(1)).
List the portfolio
For each mark: application or registration number, word and figurative elements, classes and the protected goods and services. Add filings by group companies and under former names, so your own filings are not reported.
Choose the countries
Where the mark is used or will be used. International registrations designating a country under the Madrid system also appear in that office's publications.
Set the similarity test
Identical or similar sign (visual, phonetic, conceptual), identical or similar goods and services, likelihood of confusion. A mark with a reputation reaches dissimilar goods too.
Review every publication
Compare every new application when a bulletin is published. Looking only at your own class misses filings in related classes.
Grade the findings
High, medium or low risk; for each, decide to oppose, write to the applicant or keep watching.
Diarise the deadline
Record the last day for each finding and an earlier internal date for the decision; periods differ by office.
Decision table
What to do with each finding.
A general frame; every finding is assessed on its own facts.
| Finding | Suggested step |
|---|---|
| Identical sign, identical goods | Oppose within the period; add bad faith where it fits |
| Similar sign, related goods | Comparative assessment; oppose or write to the applicant |
| Similar sign, distant goods | Oppose if your mark has a reputation in that country; otherwise keep watching |
| Filing by your own group | Not a finding; add it to the portfolio |
Watch out
What makes a filing similar.
Most missed findings fall into these three groups.
Sound-alike
Signs spelled differently but read alike.
Related goods
Goods and services in another class that are sold together or to the same buyers.
With Ulawk
Trademark watching with Ulawk
Trademark Radar compares new publications with your marks and counts the opposition period for you. The module is enabled on quotation.
Risk grade
Findings are graded High, Medium or Low.
Sensitivity
Strict, Balanced or Broad: fewer or more findings.
Group and related owners
Filings by your own group and by related owners you define are not reported.
Deadline and petition
Each finding shows the last day to oppose; reminders go out 7 and 2 days before it. For Türkiye a draft opposition petition is prepared.
Offices watched for new filings: Türkiye, United States, European Union and Japan.
How often should I watch?
At every new publication. In Türkiye the opposition period is two months from publication, so skipping a bulletin loses the right to oppose the filings in it.
Is watching my own class enough?
No. Confusion can arise with similar goods and services; related classes, and dissimilar goods for a mark with a reputation, should be watched too.
Should I oppose every finding?
No. Assess the risk first; sometimes a letter to the applicant or continued watching is enough. Decide before the period ends.
Official sources
- Industrial Property Code (Law 6769, Turkish)mevzuat.gov.tr↗
- Turkish Patent and Trademark Officeturkpatent.gov.tr↗
This page is general information, not legal advice.
Related pages
Law firm, in-house legal or accounting team?
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See similar filings before the period ends.
Ask for a Trademark Radar quote; we set up the marks and offices to watch together.
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